A hulking asteroid dubbed the "God of Chaos" is set to spark "astroquakes" as it passes Earth on an unfortunate date.
Astronomers predict that Apophis, named after the ancient Egyptian chaos god, could undergo violent tremors when it skims past Earth on Friday, April 13, 2029.
The massive space rock is set to come within just 19,000 miles of our planet.
And Earth's gravitational pull is expected to trigger "astroquakes" on Apophis, causing it to violently shake as it makes its closest approach.
Nasa launched Osiris-Apex to study Apophis, the so-called 'God of Chaos' asteroid
GETTYResearchers say the tremors will be caused by gravitational tidal forces, which occur when a massive body exerts uneven gravitational pull on another object.
Ronald-Louis Ballouz, of Johns Hopkins University, has identified two distinct physical processes that could occur during the fly-by.
The first effect would begin about an hour before Apophis reaches its closest point to Earth, causing tremors strong enough to lift boulders off its surface and send some rocks drifting into space.
The second impact involves changes to the asteroid's tumbling motion through space, which differs from the regular axis rotation of planets.
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Astronomers predict that Apophis could undergo violent tremors when it skims past Earth
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This altered tumbling could trigger eon-spanning landslides over tens of thousands of years, revealing fresh layers beneath the asteroid's surface.
Apophis is a "city-killer" space rock - comparable in size to the Empire State Building.
If the asteroid were to strike Earth directly, experts say its impact would be equivalent to detonating dozens of nuclear bombs.
While it wouldn't destroy the entire planet, the impact could devastate a city and cause destruction across hundreds of miles.
Earth's gravitational pull is expected to trigger 'astroquakes' on Apophis
WIKIMEDIA COMMONSScientists have monitored Apophis closely since its discovery in 2004, when initial calculations suggested a 2.7 per cent chance of impact in 2029.
Though more recent studies have dramatically reduced the risk, putting the odds of collision at just one in 2 billion.
To study any changes during the close encounter, Nasa's Osiris-Apex mission will rendezvous with Apophis in 2029.
The spacecraft will spend 18 months documenting physical changes to the asteroid caused by Earth's gravitational forces.
According to the Planetary Society, calculations show Earth is safe from any direct impact from Apophis for at least the next century.
Though its approach could herald some research breakthroughs.
Ballouz suggests the upcoming flyby could help explain why asteroids passing close to planets often lack weathered surfaces.
Meanwhile, to prepare for any future asteroid threats, Nasa's Planetary Defense Coordination Office is developing methods to deflect or destroy potentially hazardous space rocks.
The Office has three principal missions - Dart, developing asteroid deflection technology; Neo Surveyor, spotting hazardous asteroids and comets that come within 30 million miles of Earth; and Neowise, a space telescope which is helping Nasa find and better understand potentially hazardous near-Earth objects.
